Kisses and Memories
by Maddy46
Summary: A collection of Hiccstrid one-shots. *WARNING* Some stories may contain spoilers about the events of HTTYD2. Also contains two-shots "I do not deserve Hiccup" and "She's MY Lady". *Latest: Chapter 6, Map of the Future*
1. Kisses and Memories

_Author's note: Hi everyone! I know I've been on a long break, I think I'm losing my touch with fictional writing (assuming I ever even had one to start with), which upsets me a lot because I've always loved it. I can't really remember where I'm up to on any of my current stories, so I can't promise they'll get finished._

_Anyway, since I'm on holidays at the moment with nothing really to do, and given that I saw HTTYD2 yesterday (loved it!), I figured I try my hand at writing a short one-shot, so that way I don't end up inevitably starting something and never finishing it._

_Please note that I have not seen the TV series._

**_*WARNING* This one-shot does contain some spoilers pertaining to HTTYD2._**

_Disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon, nor do I claim to._

* * *

Hiccup Haddock and Astrid Hofferson were the equivalent of a celebrity couple on Berk. It was harder for them to tell what was worse, when they had first become a couple, or their still being a couple 5 years later. Not worse in the bad sense, but worse in the strange sense.

In the beginning, they had been followed by stares whenever they were together, despite the fact that their awkwardness around each other meant they didn't really progress past the hand-holding stage. As they grew, though, and became more comfortable with their couple status, they became followed by people whispering and giggling. Most people, if not everyone, had by now come up with their own thoughts on when the pair would get married, an idea which had initially been made public by the late Chief.

It was sunset, and a particularly beautiful one at that. Astrid and Hiccup were sitting up against Toothless in their spot on the island he had dubbed "Itchy Armpit". She sat leaning with her head leaning against Hiccup's chest while he had one of his arms around her shoulder. Neither said a word. Toothless was even asleep, oddly enough for the playful Night Fury.

Suddenly, Astrid let out a short laugh. Hiccup gave her a look of confusion. "What's so funny all of a sudden?" he joked.

"Oh, nothing. I was just remembering the look on your mother's face when she found out about us."

"Ha! Yeah, that was pretty funny, wasn't it?" Hiccup laughed. "Good thing she's a cool mum."

* * *

_"Oh yeah, that's hilarious. Come here you,"_ Hiccup grabbed Astrid and pulled her close to him, their lips meeting. It was probably their most public one yet, as well as their most passionate. Gobber told them after that he'd actually covered a child's eyes!

When they broke apart, they'd seen Valka's face, which was one of both shock and amusement. It seemed that she hadn't expected her son to have found a girlfriend, which Hiccup had taken with his usual sarcastic attitude.

"Gee, thanks for all the faith, mum."

* * *

"Yeah, I had completely forgotten to mention that to her. My bad," Hiccup joked.

Astrid moved from Hiccup's chest to punch his arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" Hiccup yelped.

"That was for forgetting to mention me to your mother!" Astrid explained. Hiccup laughed, and knowing what would come next, leant towards her a little. He received another punch.

"Ow! Hey, not fair!"

"And _that_ was for expecting a kiss," Astrid smirked, which elicited another smile out of her boyfriend.

"You're right, I'm sorry," he smirked back. Astrid laughed and moved back to lean against him. Toothless moved, stirred by the noise. The shift lead to Hiccup falling back, Astrid landing on him.

"Bud!" Hiccup whined, but the dragon only gave a gummy grin. The humans laughed at him as they stood up. "I think the overgrown lizard wants to go. What do you say, milady?"

Astrid sighed. It was so peaceful here, but the Sun was setting, and it would be dark before long. She took a step towards him and stood up to kiss him. Hiccup, surprised, settled into the kiss, returning it with as much passion as he could. Toothless turned away with a moan, causing the couple to break apart, breathless, but laughing.

"What was that for?" Hiccup asked Astrid, smiling.

"What? I have to have a reason to kiss my boyfriend?"

"Hey! I'm not complaining!" Hiccup laughed, raising his hands in surrender.

Astrid laughed. "Good. I guess we should go now," she said as she walked towards the dragon. Hiccup could only shake his head and sigh, wondering what he'd gotten himself into.

* * *

_And that's it! I hope you liked it! I know it was short, but I tend to write short, fluffy stuff, otherwise I overdo it._

_I can't remember seeing Valka's face in that ending kiss scene, and I don't know if there were any scenes with her where Hiccup and Astrid were being couple-y at all. If there were, I apologise if this story didn't quite fit with it._

_Anyway, am I the only one who just loves "milady"? I don't know what it is, but I just love it! It seems so romantic._

_Also, don't forget to review! I accept constructive criticism (just please keep it kind!), but **NO FLAMES**! Thank you!_


	2. I do not deserve Hiccup

Author's note: Okay, seeing how well _Kisses and Memories_ seemed to be received, I thought I'd give another one-shot a try, and make this a collection. (The fact that I have just not been able to stop thinking about HTTYD has had absolutely no impact on this decision, by the way :P)

Disclaimer: I do not own _How To Train Your Dragon_.

* * *

APOV

I do not deserve Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. It's a pure and simple fact. After all of the horrible things I said and did to him, there's just no way, and how he's forgiven me, I'll just never know.

How to describe Hiccup. Are there even words for him? I guess Hiccup just about sums him up, really. He's just him. People seem to think that I'm brave and courageous and, well, a warrior, but those are words which are better suited to Hiccup, aren't they?

He was a skinny, clumsy, dorky runt who was just too much so for his own good. The worst Viking in the world, some would say. But despite that, despite knowing how much trouble he would be in, and despite knowing what he did went directly against the Viking ways, he still saved a dragon, and the whole of Berk while he was at it.

Surely going against everything you've been taught makes you brave. Surely it makes you strong and courageous. Heck, when you're Hiccup, surely getting out of bed and facing the village everyday makes you all of those things, yet we were all too blind to see it.

How do I deserve him?

I don't.

Couldn't even if I wanted to.

Couldn't no matter how much he's forgiven and loves me.

Unfortunately, I also can't bring myself to tell him that.

Plus he wouldn't let me say it anyway.

He's the sort of guy who no one would ever have imagined as a hero. No one would have imagined that we would end up a couple, and certainly not me. I feel guilty every time I think about how I treated him before. I feel shallow whenever people remind him that he's the "Pride of Berk". Did he really need to become a hero for me to fall for him?

So yes, everyone else calls me a brave warrior, even Hiccup does. But he's always able to remind me that there is another side of me, albeit one that not even I see very often.

But Hiccup was always the kind of guy to see things that others couldn't.

I do not deserve Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. But then again, I'm not going to be the one to point out the one thing he hasn't seen yet.

* * *

Okay, I know Astrid is fairly OOC in this, so I'm sorry, but I sort of like to imagine her with her softer and more emotional side, especially when it comes to Hiccup. I think I'll need to watch the TV series to get a better sense of her character. At the moment I'm only going off of what I remember from the movie(s) and the other fanfics that I've been reading.

Anyway, this was another _really_ short one produced out of boredom, and I feel like I might have tried a little too hard with it (actually, no, I know it's lame and I tried way too hard with it), but I hope you liked it anyway!

Again, please don't forget to review, especially if you want more! Remember, kind constructive criticism/advice is welcomed, but flames are a no-no.

Bonus points for those of you who noticed the not-so-subtle acrostic poem in there!


	3. I do not deserve Hiccup 2

Okay, I would first like to start off by thanking _greenshade15_, who is the reason this chapter exists at all. Thank you for your review, I felt so happy when I read it that as soon as I had finished, I sat down and started planning/writing this chapter. (To everyone, yes, this was written on the same day as the last chapter was published, but I figured I'd give it at least a day before updating again).

So, the resulting chapter _**is connected to the previous one**_.

Disclaimer: I do not own _How to Train Your Dragon_. That being said, if someone wants to get Toothless for me, I would not object ;)

Also, *WARNING* this chapter does contain some small spoilers involving HTTYD2. Nothing overly big, but still. Actually, if you really want to read it, you probably could just pretend that I have a really good imagination, because I checked and it's only two subtle things ;)

* * *

Astrid was walking around Berk with Hiccup. The Sun was shining, dragons were flying above them, people attempted to keep their ogling of the young couple as inconspicuous as possible and failed… it was just like any other day. Except it wasn't.

Hiccup felt like something was wrong, and people had long since learnt to listen when Hiccup felt like something was wrong, because most of the time, he was right. But this time it didn't have anything to do with the village or the dragons or anything, it was to do with the person who wasn't holding his hand as tightly as usual, and who was about 10cm further away from him as well. It was only a little thing, and no one else would notice it, but he was Hiccup. He wanted to stop and ask her right then but, being Astrid, he knew from experience that it wasn't the best idea, so he kept walking.

Once Hiccup had made sure the village would be alright without him for the day, the two Vikings saddled up their dragons and made their way to Itchy Armpit, which had fast become their own private island. Hiccup's early worries were only heightened when most of the flight was silent. Usually Astrid would call out and try to race him to the unfortunately-named island, but there was none of that today.

They landed and dismounted their dragons, letting them run and muck around as they usually did. Astrid walked over to the cliff, standing just far enough away to make sure she wouldn't end up over the edge of it, with Hiccup only a few steps behind her.

"Astrid?" he asked hesitantly when he reached her. "Astrid, what's wrong?"

She turned to him with a smile on her face. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Astrid…" he began, gently taking her hands in his, "you don't really think I don't know you well enough by now to tell when something's wrong? Wow, that hurts a bit," he attempted to joke. "Seriously, what's wrong?" he quickly returned to a more serious mood.

"Hiccup, nothing's wrong." He wasn't buying it, though.

"Astrid Hofferson, we are not leaving here until you tell me what in the name of Thor is wrong." Her smile faltered a bit. She liked it when her boyfriend got all confident and leadership-y, but not when it involved something like this. She waited, but Hiccup just stayed where he was. Sighing, she realised it was futile. He could be just as stubborn as she could when he wanted to be.

"I don't deserve you," she whispered. Hiccup raised his eyebrows in surprise; surely she hadn't just said what he thought she had.

"I'm sorry– what?" he asked in shock. "Did you say–?"

"I don't deserve you!" Astrid yelled, looking away. It surprised the two dragons who, up until now, had been chasing each other, oblivious to what was happening between their riders. But they quickly resumed their game, realising they weren't in danger.

Now Hiccup was really shocked. Never had he thought he would hear those words come out of his girlfriend's mouth. He actually dropped her hands.

"A- Astri–" he started, unsure of what to say. He hadn't done much rambling in a while, but if Astrid hadn't have interrupted, he was sure that he would've started again.

"What? It's true! I mean, you're the Chief! You're the Pride of Berk!" He flinched a bit at that one. He still didn't like being called that to his face. "And who am I? I'm just Astrid Hofferson, the one who had to wait until the scrawny dork went and became a hero before she could fall in love with him!" With that, she grabbed the front of his flight suit and began to cry. Hiccup wasn't sure which surprised him more, what she was saying or the crying. Astrid _never_ cried.

"Ahhh…" he started again, still unsure. Steeling himself, he pulled Astrid off of him, held her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. When she looked away, he took her chin and made her look at him. "Astrid, what kind of nonsense are you talking about?"

Now it was Astrid's turn to free herself. She wiped away the tears and looked directly at him. "Don't play dumb, Hiccup. It doesn't suit you."

Hiccup was taken aback by the cold in her voice, but recovered. "Astrid, I don't know where you've gotten this from all of a sudden, I mean, five years! But if anything, you know it's me who doesn't deserve _you_. You've always been the better of the two of us, and you know it. Hel, you never let me _forget _it, remember?" It came out sounding a little harsher than he's meant it, and he saw it in her eyes. He moved towards her again, gently reclaiming her hands. "But who ever said we can't be together? Can't you tell? With you I'm happier than I ever could have been. I thought you were the same, but…" he trailed off, leaving the ball in her court, and she knew it.

"Hiccup, I am happy with you. I mean, how could I not be? But that doesn't change the fact that I could never deserve you in a million years. Nothing could make up for the way I treated you."

"Wait, don't I get a say in this? I forgave you long ago. Honestly I think I probably forgave you before you even did anything. I wasn't exactly the best at hiding my feelings, now was I? And I want to get back to what you said before, about me needing to become a… hero, and all. May I point out that you were with me when all of that happened? You were there before I'd even done anything at all. You never were one to follow the rules."

"But I did, and that's just as bad!" she argued.

"Look, Astrid, I know not to argue with you, but I'm not backing down from this either. So why don't we just say that neither of us deserves the other and leave at that? Please? We're perfect– you're perfect, just the way you are. Maybe the rest of the village needed for me to save Berk and all before they could respect me, but I don't believe that you did." He looked at her with big eyes that he must have learnt from Toothless, begging her to believe him. She searched his face, looking for an argument before she realised he was right. A smile took hold of her face, and a real one this time. Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately received a punch in the arm. "Ow! What was that for?"

Astrid laughed. "_That_ was for making me wrong." She leant up to kiss him. "And _that_ was for being right."

The blonde walked over to Stormfly, leaving a stunned Hiccup in her wake. Mounting the dragon, she called out to him. "Race you back!" and took off.

The Night Fury caught on, realising he'd lost his chasey partner. He walked over to his rider, who just muttered "I can't believe I actually won that one," before shaking his head and scrambling onto the dragon. "Come on, bud!" They took off.

Stormfly was no match for Toothless, even with the lead that she'd had. As they passed them, Hiccup called back with a grin.

"You'll have to do better than that, milady!"

* * *

Wow, I was not expecting it to be that long. It's almost as long as the past two chapters combined. It probably is if you discount the author's notes, actually. I also wasn't expecting to finish it all in one sitting (I kid you not, this was a one-sitting thing). Hopefully you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Please remember to review! If you do, extra chapters like this one might just get added. I don't tend to have very good ideas by myself, so suggestions and encouragement are always welcome!

By the way, you may or may not have noticed that I don't really have a good title for this little two-shot, so again, suggestions are welcome! Also let me know if you think I should move this to its own separate fic.

Also, sorry for the lack of acrostic poems in this chapter ;) (Nah, I kid. I know the acrostic poem was pretty lame).

PS- I just had to throw "milady" in there. I actually specifically kept writing just so I could do that :P


	4. She's MY Lady

Author's note: This chapter is for _HiccupHaddockLover_, who requested it. I'm just going to say now that I have no idea how this is going to turn out, since I don't really know what Eret's like, but I will give it my best shot.

To _greenshade15_, I really appreciate your support and suggestions! I'll try my best to give them a shot once I've written this chapter.

*WARNING* This chapter contains spoilers for HTTYD2.

_Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon. No copyright infringement intended._

* * *

Eret, son of Eret, was a former dragon-trapper-turned-rider. His history didn't get him much around Berk, especially trust, but under the new Chief's command, most of the villagers were willing to turn a (mostly) blind eye to it.

He walked over to his dragon, Skullcrusher. Again, a lot of the villagers weren't too happy at the thought of the trapper riding their late Chief's dragon, but seeing as he had been given to him by Hiccup, no one said anything.

Eret was still a bit nervous around the creature, whose kind he had once been ordered to trap and deliver, and though he had ridden them before, was still quite unsure as how to act around them. He hadn't even removed the gear from the dragon.

He was deep in thought, trying to figure out what to do, when Astrid landed behind him.

"I must say, you're lucky Hiccup's busy at the moment, because you'd be in for a real fun day if he saw you now," she teased, causing Eret to jump.

"Oh, Astrid," he said as he turned, "yeah, well, um…" The newcomer scratched the back of his head as he tried to think of something to say.

The blonde laughed, hopping off her Deadly Nadder. "It's just that he'd spend the whole day teaching you how to handle Skullcrusher if he could. Not many people here like the thought of you with the Chief–" she stopped abruptly, gathering her thoughts, "well, former Chief's dragon, and I don't think they'd appreciate you treating or handling him wrong." She gave the Rumblehorn a scratch under his chin.

"I know," Eret sighed. "I just don't know how to do that. I've been trapping dragons for years, and now suddenly I have this magnificent beast? How times change, hey?"

"Ha! Yeah, tell me about it. Just five years ago we were hunting these guys down, and now look. It took a little getting used to at first, but they're really loving and gentle. Once you see that, you'll be flying around with no problems. And you've already ridden one! You just need to befriend Skullcrusher now. Isn't that right, boy?" she finished, addressing the Rumblehorn. She hadn't shifted her gaze from him throughout her speech, so she didn't notice the way Eret had started looking at her slightly different.

"You're very wise, you know that?" he said, surprising the girl.

"Ha! Not really. Stubborn, yeah. A fighter? Also yeah. But I don't think anyone's ever called me wise."

"Well you are. And passionate and loyal. I haven't known you for long at all, but I can already tell that about you."

"Well, just wait until you've known me longer, then," she responded.

With both of them caught up in their conversation, neither had noticed Hiccup approaching. He'd seen Astrid and Stormfly heading over there a short while ago, and finished with his new Chiefing duties for the moment, had decided to surprise them. He'd reached his current location as Eret had called his girlfriend "wise", and had heard the rest as well.

"I can't wait for it," Eret said back, increasing his flirtation a touch. These five words made Hiccup's blood boil.

Astrid proceeded to talk him through some of the basic things about Skullcrusher and dragons in general as her boyfriend watched on without her knowing. Hiccup felt bad about what he was doing, but wasn't about to move. Not with this new-guy flirting with Astrid, anyway. He was used to Snotlout's harmless flirting, and didn't really mind it since he was clearly after Ruffnut now anyway, but he'd never imagined some other, _older_ guy hitting on his girlfriend.

He noticed Astrid wish Eret luck and move to leave, and started moving so as to make it look like he was only just arriving.

"Hiccup!" she called happily, and quickened her pace to reach him. "Race you to Itchy Armpit?" she winked.

Hiccup decided to play it cool for the moment. "Ha! More like follow me!" he joked. The couple quickly got on to their dragons, who had been faithfully following them, and took off.

Sure enough, Hiccup and Toothless reached the island first. "One of these days we might just have to _let_ them beat us here, bud," the new Chief said as stood on the land. "Although then I'd probably get punched for taking pity," he laughed.

"You sure are right, you would." Astrid punched him lightly as he turned around.

The couple walked over to their spot on the cliff. Hiccup couldn't hold it in any longer. "Astrid…" he started, slowing down.

"What is it?" she asked, worried. He didn't use that tone very often.

"How do you feel about Eret?"

She shook her head in disbelief. Hiccup could be direct, but he'd never had to ask her a question like this before. "I don't know, he's new. He did help us fight Drago, I suppose. And even we used to fight the dragons. I guess someone has to show him some kindness around here."

"I guess, but that's not what I meant."

Astrid was still confused. "Then what did you mean?"

Hiccup sighed. He didn't know how this would end. "I heard the two of you before. He seemed… awfully keen to get to know you."

Realisation dawned on Astrid. "What!?" she exclaimed, making Hiccup wince. "Hiccup! How could you even think that?"

Relief washed over the young Chief. "I know, I know, I'm sorry. It's just… hearing him talk to you like that made me angry and worried and…" he started rambling, trying to apologise quickly and diffuse the situation. Truthfully, Astrid found it adorable. He hadn't rambled in a while, not since he'd become all tall and confident. However, she wasn't about to admit that.

"You eavesdropped! And now you're basically saying you don't trust me? I would have thought that after all we've been through together…" she trailed off, figuring her point was self-evident.

"No, no! I'm not saying that! I'm saying I don't trust _him_. Astrid, despite how crazy it sounds, I would trust you with my life," he explained.

Astrid smiled, seeing how sorry he was. "Aww, I know."

Now it was Hiccup's turn to be surprised. "You… what?"

She laughed. "You're so cute when you're jealous. And apologetic." She took a few steps over to him and stood up on her toes to kiss his cheek. "You should know me well enough by now to know it takes a little more than that to make me give up on something. Like it or not, Haddock, you're stuck with me."

* * *

I'm sorry for how, well, lame this turned out! I also apologise for the horrible ending. I'm probably the worst at writing endings, seeing as I start to ramble on. I wanted to work a "milady" in at the end, but seeing as I did that in my last chapter, I didn't want to start using it all the time. I did kind of enjoy writing the jealous Hiccup, though. Hopefully I kept him somewhat in-character.

I don't think I have much more to add to that, so I'll just remind you to leave a review! Constructive criticism is okay, but no flames!

Thank you!


	5. She's MY Lady 2

Hi everyone! I'm sorry it took me a while to get this chapter up. I sat down a couple of days ago to write it, but I just couldn't get past the opening comments, so I deleted it. However, I have now decided to just sit down and get this done.

This chapter is for _The Whisperer of Death_. Thank you for the encouragement!

Also, I would like to thank the two guest reviewers for commenting on my ending for the last part. I'll try to take your comments on board and improve my endings :)

As with the last chapter, this part contains *spoilers* to HTTYD2.

Disclaimer: Nothing's changed, _How to Train Your Dragon _still doesn't belong to me.

* * *

Eret had finally managed to get Skullcrusher to warm up to him, largely thanks to Astrid's help a few days ago. He hadn't been able to forget her, even with that other girl, Ruffnut, constantly making advances on him.

So far he hadn't seen much of her; she was always flying off here or there, and at her advice, he'd been trying to spend as much time with his dragon as possible. He'd been toying with the idea of asking her out, seeing as his previous attempts at flirting hadn't resulted in a punch of any sort. Luckily enough, the perfect opportunity presented itself when he noticed her talking to Hiccup a few metres away.

The young Chief noticed the other man walking towards him, and initially tensed slightly, but, remembering Astrid's reassurances the other day, relaxed.

"Hello there, Eret. I see you've managed to get Skullcrusher to warm up to you. Maybe we'll have to go out flying some time so I can teach you some more," he greeted the man as he reached them. Astrid chuckled quietly to herself. Of course Hiccup would immediately turn to dragons as a conversation topic. This earned a somewhat confused expression from Hiccup, but he didn't question the chuckling.

"Uh, yeah. That'd be good?" Eret responded unsurely. "But, ah, actually, I wanted to speak to Astrid."

Hiccup suppressed another tension, mostly because he didn't want to receive another punch from his girlfriend. He'd quickly learnt that the calibration in his flight suit needed as much protection as it could get. As he was about to respond, though, Snotlout came running up to him, rambling something largely incoherent about the twins, a fight, and a twisted-up Zippleback. "Sorry, I've gotta go see what this is about," he apologised. Turning to Astrid, he said "I'll catch up with you again later, alright?" right as he was pulled along by his cousin.

Astrid sighed. Hiccup hadn't been Chief for long, but he was always being called away whenever they were spending time together, and it was starting to get frustrating. Eret coughed, pulling her attention back to him. "Oh yeah, you said you wanted to speak to me? Is it about Skullcrusher?"

"Well, sort of…" Eret started.

"Look, don't worry. You're doing great with him. And don't mind Hiccup. You see how busy he is, I doubt he'll have any time to go flying with you any time soon," she said with a hint of resentment. "Besides, I'm pretty sure he'll avoid it as long as possible. I know he trusts you with him, but Skullcrusher was his dad's dragon."

That shocked Eret. He wasn't sure how to proceed with the conversation now, with such a subject being raised. He stood in silence for a bit, until Astrid finally realised what she'd said.

"Oh wow, I'm sorry. I know you didn't know him, it's just… yeah," she said sadly. "Anyway, yes, you wanted to speak to me, and I've just started rambling. What can I help you with?" She looked at him with expectant eyes.

"Well, I've been thinking, Skullcrusher hasn't really been out for a fly since… the battle, and as you said, Hiccup's busy. And anyway, you were really helpful the other day so I was hoping that you might, I don't know, go flying with me sometime?"

Astrid was a little shocked. "Oh, I don't know. I mean, I _am_ the second-best flyer on Berk, and probably in the world, but I don't really excel with the teaching stuff. That's really more Hiccup's job."

Eret wasn't about to give up, though. Taking a step towards her, he attempted to touch her arm. "Oh, come on. You managed to teach me the other day, and–"

"Astrid!?" Hiccup called out as he ran over. She had a horrified look on her face from Eret trying to make a move, and Eret was just plain shocked. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded Eret, moving between him and his girlfriend protectively.

"Hiccup!" Astrid exclaimed, angry at how he'd rushed in the way he had.

"I was just asking Astrid if she'd go flying with me," he explained, still stunned by Hiccup's reaction.

"And that involved moving in on her the way you just did!?" The commotion was starting to attract a crowd. Word spread quickly around Berk, and the Chief yelling at the new guy was not going to go unnoticed. The new audience quickly figured out that Eret had been making a move on Astrid, sharing looks of disapproval.

Eret had no idea what was going on. Why was everyone shaking their heads at him? "Ah, well… No?" he said hesitantly, made nervous by the crowd.

Astrid placed her hand on Hiccup's shoulder. She'd never seen him so mad. "Hiccup…" she said softly. Hiccup didn't move his gaze from Eret, though, breathing heavily in anger. "Hiccup…" she tried again, "Hiccup, he didn't know. It's alright, I'm fine." This seemed to return Hiccup to his normal self. Well, as normal as Hiccup could get.

He shook his head. "Eret, I'm sorry," he apologised gruffly. Turning around to face Astrid, he took her hand and walked off with her, pushing past the crowd.

Eret remained, dumbfounded. He heard the crowd whispering, catching words here and there.

"Flirting with Astrid…"

"Hiccup's girlfriend…"

"How dare he…"

Piecing it together, he realised what he must've done. Ruffnut came over to him, with a mischievous grin on her face. "It's alright, Eret, son of Eret. You don't want Astrid anyway. You know we were made to be together." With that she reached up to grab his arm and the crowd dispersed.

Astrid pulled her hand out of Hiccup's grip once they were far enough away, making Hiccup stop and turn around. She looked at him with a furious face.

"Astrid…" he began. Softly, of course, they didn't need an audience again.

"No, Hiccup, don't start. I told you you didn't need to worry!"

"Yeah, I know, but it's just that when I saw him doing that I sort of… lost my cool. And don't say something about 'not being able to lose what you never had' or anything," he added, noticing her opening her mouth. She quickly shut it with a chuckle. With the mood better, he allowed himself to smile as well, while bracing for that punch he knew was coming. But Astrid surprised him again, going straight for the kiss.

"That was for being protective."

"Really?" he asked warily. "You're not going to punch me for making a scene?"

Astrid smiled. "Nope. Why? Do you want me to?"

"What? No, no, no, that's okay."

She laughed. "I thought not." Then she punched his arm.

"Ow!" Hiccup yelped. "I thought you weren't going to punch me!"

"I said I wouldn't punch you for making a scene. _That_ was for making everyone think I couldn't protect myself." Hiccup rolled his eyes. "You _are_ cute when you're jealous, though."

"Cute? I am not _cute_. I'm raw Vikingness, remember?" he joked with his usual sarcasm, making Astrid laugh again.

"Someone _is _going to have to take him flying, though."

"Don't worry, I'm sure Ruffnut will be happy to volunteer. Win-win, really."

"Yeah, everyone wins… except Tuffnut," Astrid pointed out. They were silent for a moment, until the image of Tuffnut flying with Ruffnut and Eret became too much for them to bear, and they burst out in laughter, with everything that had happened earlier all but forgotten.

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Wow, that turned out far longer than I expected. Hopefully the ending was better this time! I couldn't really think of anywhere else to go with it beyond that point.

I would like to mention that I have assumed in this little two-shot that Eret is unaware of the Hiccstrid relationship. Whether or not this is the case I don't know, but please just bear with me on it. As far as changes to the canon go, I don't think it's a major one. Also, it takes place not long after the events of HTTYD2, as in a couple of days at most.

Also, Hiccup didn't take long to sort out the situation he got called away for. I wrote that section and then realised Hiccup actually needed to be present for him to get all protective, so I had to bring him back pretty quick so that the stalling didn't seem so obvious. Now that I think about it, that could be quite an interesting story in itself. PM me if you're interested in writing it, or just leave it in a review. I'd be interested to see what people come up with for that.

Which now brings me to Eret. I do try to keep all of the characters, well, in-character, but Eret is quite difficult, seeing as he's only been in HTTYD2 at this stage and I've only seen it once so far. Hopefully he didn't seem too OOC to anyone in this chapter.

Well, until next chapter! Don't forget to leave a review! It's those that keep me writing!


	6. Map of the Future

AN: Hi! I feel a little bad. I've been reading a heap of HTTYD fanfics lately but neglecting my own (for a month!). So I decided to sit down and write another chapter. This is another chapter requested by greenshade15. Well, kind of. You'll see what I mean. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint! Thank you so much for the support!

Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD.

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HPOV

"Hiccup! I think I see land up ahead!" I heard Astrid call. I looked in the direction she was pointing, making out a slight blur on the horizon.

"I think you're right! It looks about another half hour of flying!" I was excited, but a little worried as usual. The dragons had already been flying most of the day, and I wasn't sure how much they had left in them. We had taken a few short rests, but I could practically feel Toothless' energy draining away. Astrid seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Are you sure the dragons can make it?" she called over.

"I have no idea. I think so, but be prepared to swim just in case."

"Great," she responded dryly.

As we approached, the blur became much bigger, and much clearer. We had definitely found an island, and as a bonus, I was fairly sure it was one we hadn't discovered yet.

Eventually we got close enough that I could see most of it. It appeared uninhabited, which was good because I really didn't need another tribe to explain to. I'd taken a personal day (at mum and Gobber's "request"), so the last thing I wanted was work. It was also good because it meant I could sketch the island onto the map as soon as we landed. I prided myself on accuracy, but I'd learnt from being Chief that you had to do things as soon as possible, because otherwise you mightn't get the chance.

The sun was setting by the time we landed. Fortunately Astrid and I had brought camping gear with us. We'd directed the dragons to a small cave, making as much noise as we could while landing so as to make sure nothing was inside. Dismounting, I heard Astrid sigh.

"Astrid?" I asked.

"Nothing. Just exhausted, and all I've done all day is sit. I can't imagine how Toothless and Stormfly are feeling." I agreed. The dragons had been through a lot before, but this was probably one of the longest days we'd had. Sure enough they were asleep by the time we'd hit the ground.

Astrid went about setting up our space for sleeping while I sketched the island onto the map. It had remained much the same since I'd become Chief, extending out in all directions far past the edge of the notebook.

I went about the task carefully, wanting to get it as right as I could now so that I wouldn't have to worry about it later. It was one of the bigger islands we'd discovered, only a little smaller than Berk. I was so focused on my task that I didn't realise Astrid had actually finished until I felt her hand on my shoulder.

"What should we name it?" I asked without looking up, putting the finishing touches on the sketch. Her felt her hand tighten a little, indicating her surprise.

"Don't you usually let Toothless name them?"

I laughed. "Yeah, well, if you haven't noticed, the useless reptile over there is actually living up to his name."

That earned me a quiet chuckle. "I don't suppose 'Sleepy Dragon' would make a good name, would it now?"

I took her joke seriously, writing it next to the island. "Alright, welcome to 'Sleepy Dragon", milady."

"Oh, Hiccup! I was only joking!"

"I know, but you should know that I always take the first suggestion. Good or not." I closed the map, remembering how good it felt to explore.

Astrid crossed her arms. "Are you implying that my suggestion was bad?" she huffed.

"No, no! It's a great name!" I responded quickly, but was punched in the arm anyway. "I don't suppose another answer would've saved me from that, would it?"

"No, probably not."

I smiled anyway. I'd really missed this. Being Chief was really demanding. I just hoped I wouldn't regret taking the day off to fly out here with Astrid.

The sun had well and truly set by now, so I set to work lighting a fire since Toothless and Stormfly were fast asleep. It felt strange, seeing as I hadn't had to light one since finding Toothless. That's the good thing about having a dragon; heat on demand. I was surprised that I managed to get one going fairly quickly. I suppose old habits die hard.

Astrid had already settled down in her makeshift bed, not quite asleep but almost there. She smiled up at me, which of course I returned as I lay down next to her. She'd placed the "beds" close together, but not close enough that they could be considered as the same one.

"Hiccup?" she asked softly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you'll ever finish the map?"

The question surprised me. I'd never given it much thought. "I don't know. I guess not. I think there'll always be something new to discover out there. Besides, being Chief doesn't exactly give me time to do much else."

"Ah," she said sadly.

"Why? Do you want to finish it? I could always give it to you if you want."

I saw her eyes widen. "No, no. It wouldn't feel right without you. I just wanted to know if you'd given it any thought."

"Oh. Well in all honesty I hadn't until you asked." It went silent. I was almost asleep when I heard my name.

"Hiccup?"

"Mm?" I mumbled. The fire was beginning to die down a little, but it still crackled.

"Do you really think that being Chief means you won't have time for anything else?"

Her question caught me off-guard. "Well that depends. It _is_ quite demanding, but that doesn't mean I won't have time for anything else. We made it here, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we did, but that's not what I mean." I waited for her to elaborate. "You don't seem to have as much time for me lately. I know that's selfish, but I can't help but think that if you don't have time for me now, how much will you have in the future."

"Oh, Astrid. I'm so sorry! I didn't realise you felt that way. It's just been such a crazy time. But we've nearly finished all the repairs around the village, so after that we'll be able to spend a lot more time together. I promise. I'm not going to let me being Chief get between us."

She smiled again. It was one of the most beautiful things I'd seen. "Okay, I'm holding you to your promise, Haddock."

"I don't doubt that. I don't think I'd survive breaking a promise to you anyway."

We stopped again. I closed my eyes, opening them again when I felt Astrid's lips against my cheek.

"I realised I never made up for punching you before. That was for bringing me here with you."

She hadn't moved back to her makeshift bed yet. Something told me she wasn't going to, maybe the sleep-deprivation. She snuggled up next to me, moving my arms so that we were locked in an embrace. Under normal circumstances I probably would've been blushing furiously and objected, but at that point I was so tired that I just fell asleep thinking how good it felt. I was fairly sure I'd fallen asleep with a huge grin on my face, actually. No way was I ever breaking my promise to Astrid. In fact there were still more I wanted to make with her.

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AN: Okay guys, how was it? I hope you enjoyed it!

I'm thinking that my next one could be based on a song. There have just been a few that I've listened to lately and all I can think of is Hiccstrid. If you haven't heard of BTS, you should look them up. Specifically their song "Tomorrow". I swear I think of Hiccstrid every time I hear it. There are a couple of their others that make me think of them as well, but that's the main one.

[Edit: Thank you to Dragonbow117 for pointing out the mistake in the last paragraph! It has now been fixed. Thank you for your review, as well. It made my day :)]


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